Crystalline high explosives, such as RDX, HMX, PETN, TNT, Composition B are usually desensitized by coating the particles thereof with a small amount, e.g. 1-10% by weight, of a wax phlegmatizing material. A number of methods have been utilized for producing such desensitizer coatings on particulate explosives. According to one method the explosive particles and the wax are slurried in water heated to a temperature above the melting point of the wax and the wax is deposited on the explosive particles on cooling. However, the explosive particles obtained thereby are unevenly coated and adhered together in small lumps, which if broken during handling or transport, expose the explosive surface, and thus increases the sensitivity of the explosive. A more uniform coating of the wax or other desensitizing material can be obtained by employing an aqueous dispersion of the wax obtained by means of a dispersing or emulsifying agent (British Pat. No. 574,271 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,278). Another method comprises mixing the explosive particles with a solution of the wax or other desensitizing material in a volatile organic solvent, such as heptane, as such or as an aqueous emulsion thereof in water, and separating the coated explosive particles from the solvent and/or aqueous medium. While this method provides a fairly satisfactory coating, it has some significant disadvantages, notably, the solvents employed are costly and, although not toxic, must be vented and recovered; and the removal of the organic solvent and water by evaporation is time-consuming -- all of which adds to the expense of the method (British Pat. No. 776,539, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,348,986 and 3,544,360). It is also known to coat the explosive particles with a desensitizing material consisting of calcium stearate obtained by adding calcium chloride to an aqueous mixture of the explosive particles and sodium stearate (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,719,153 and 3,266,957).